Illuminating device



Oct. 15, 1940. O HALLBAUER 2,218,395

ILLUMIHATING DEVI CE Filed Dec. 22, 1958 2 ShQets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. L Or-ro ALL. 3005K BY a ATTORNEY.

Oct. 15, 1940. o. HALLBAUER ILLUI/IINATING DEVICE R 2 Sheets-SheetQ Filed Bed.

INVENTOR. 51905 E.

%RNEY.

Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE A ILLUMINATING DEVICE Otto Hallbauer, Grantwood, N. J. 7 Application December 22, 1938, Serial No. 247,185

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in illuminating devices and has for one of its objects to provide an improveddevice of simple and practical construction involving the recessing of a source of light within a housing which may be mounted in a support, such as a table top or like structure, and wherein said source of light may be adjusted to an operative position above said support so as to cast the rays of light in a desired direction.

Another object is to mount a lamp housing on a suitable support and provide said housing with a transparent cover which carries said lamp and is adjustable relative to a casing within which said housing is disposed when said casing is raised above said support.

The inventive idea involved is capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions, one of which, for purposes of illustration, is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a support, such as a table top, showing the illuminating device applied thereto in one position of adjustment.

Figure 2 is a similar View showing the illuminating device elevated above the support.

Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. ipand,

Figure 6 is a bottom plan View, partly broken away and shown in section.

The device of the present invention is particularly useful when it is desired to employ a direct beam .of light in a room that may otherwise be darkened as, for example, when a television apparatus is in operation and one person within the room wishes to read while others are observing the television screen. The device is adjusted for mounting upon a suitable support such as the top 1 of a table, or the like, and, to so mount said device, said table top is provided with an opening 8 in which the major portion of the device is recessed so as to depend below said top when the device is not elevated thereabove.

The device itself comprises an outer casing 9 opened at its upper and lower ends and provided around three of its sides at said upper end, with a marginal flange In which is adapted to rest upon the upper surface of the top I to support the casing in position. Disposed within said casing 9 is a lamp housing, generally indicated by the numeral H, and provided with a hinged arcuate bottom l2 which is adapted to be dropped or lowered so that access may be had to the in- M candescent lamp l3 mounted Within said housing, said bottom I2 being retained in its normal closed position by a spring latch I4. Arranged Within the housing H longitudinally thereof and partially encircling the 'lamp I3 is a shield l5 comprising a substantially semi-circular body having .an end plate It at one end through which a portion of the socket of the lamp l3 extends, and also having an operating disc I! at its other end pivotally mounted on one of the end walls of the housing II. This shield is rot'atedly adjustable relative to the lamp, by operating the disc IT, so as to direct the rays of light from said lamp in a desired direction when the device is in use and said shield may also act as a reflector. 'I he housing H is open at its upper end to which issecured the frame 18 of a cover for said housing, the outer marginal edges of said frame overlapping the edges of the opening 8 in the top 1 and resting upon the upper surface of the latter when the device is in the position as shown in Fig. l. The operating disc I! for the shield I5 extends through a slot at one end of the frame It so that said disc may be manipulated, to adjust said shield. The frame l8 of the cover forms a central opening which is closed by a transparent element such as a sheet of glass l9 through which the rays of light from the lamp i3 will pass when said lamp is turned on through a suitable switch (not shown). For the purpose of adjusting the housing I I relative to the casing, the former is pivoted, as at 20, to one wall of said housing.

Means are provided in connection with the device for elevating the casing 9 and housing I l, as a unit, above the top I as shown in Fig. 2, and for tilting the housing relative to the casing after said elements have been so elevated. The means for so producing unitary movement of the casing 9 and housing ll comprises an operating rod or shaft 2| mounted in suitable bearings 22 secured to the underside of the top I, with one end of said rod projecting beyond one edge of said top and having slidably keyed thereon a spring pressed operating nut 23. The opposed surfaces of the outer bearing and nut are provided with clutch faces 24 which, when engaged with each other, retain the rod 2| in its various positions of adjustment. By disengaging said faces through an outward sliding movement of the nut 23, the latter may be turned to rotate said rod in a desired direction. The inner end of the rod 2! carries a pinion 25 which meshes with a rack 26 formed on the adjacent wall of the casing 9 so that when the rod 2| is turned the casing and the housing contained therein will be raised or lowered relative to the top I.

The means for tilting the housing l i, with its cover I8, after the said housing and the casing 9 have been elevated, for instance, to the position of Fig. 2, comprises a segmental rack 27 (Fig. 3) secured to one of the end walls of the housing and meshing with a pinion 28 mounted upon a stub shafit 29. This stub shaft 29 projects through the adjacent end wall of the casing 9 beneath the top I and has slidably keyed to its outer end the operating nut 30 for turning said pinion 28 in the desired direction. Opposed clutch faces 3! are utilized to maintain the stub shaft 29 in a desired position so that after the housing II with its cover 58 have been adjusted as desired the same will remain in position until actuated by an operation of the nut 30. In order that the nut 30 will pass through the top 7 when the casing and housing are elevated, the opennig 8 in said top is enlarged as indicated at 32. It is also possible to adjust the inner housing H relative to the casing 9 without elevating said elements above :the top 5, as indicated by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 3. In this instance, the operator need only reach under the table to grasp the nut 38 :to turn the same and thus obtain the tilting movement of the housing and cover. In order that the rear edge of the cover frame 58 adjacent the pivot 20 will clear the table .top 'I when said cover is tilted, the Wall of the opening 8 in said top adjacent said rear edge of the cover is spaced from the near wall of the support having an opening therein; of a casing mounted within said opening and depending below said support, means Ito move said casing vertically through said opening to a projected position above said support, a lamp housing pivoted within said casing and having a top which extends outwardly beyond the upper end of said casing and rests on said support when said casing is in a lowered position, and means to move said housing about its pivot and relative to said casing.

2. The combination with a table top or like support having an opening therein; of a casing mounted within said opening and depending below said support, means to move said casing vertically through said opening to a projected position above said support, a lamp housing pivoted to and normally recessed within said casing and having a hinged bottom and a top the edges of which rest upon said support when said casing is lowered and said housing is recessed therein, and means .to move said housing about its pivot and relative to said casing.

3. The combination with a table top or like support having an opening therein; of an open ended casing movably mounted within said opening and having a lower position in which the casing depends entirely below said support, means to move said casing vertically relative to said support, a lamp housing disposed within said casing and pivoted to the upper end thereof, said housing having a hinged bottom through which access may be had to the interior of said housing through the adjacent open end of said casing, and a cover for said housing which also forms a closure for the open upper end of said casing.

OTTO HALLBAUER. 

